


when you come home to me

by lover_of_many_things



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Clarke has a tendency to use craigslist while drunk, F/F, Lexa makes incorrect assumptions
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-09
Updated: 2015-07-08
Packaged: 2018-04-08 10:27:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4301220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lover_of_many_things/pseuds/lover_of_many_things
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clarke drunkenly answered an ad on Craigslist in order to fill the newly vacant room in her apartment. Lexa had no idea what she was getting into, but tried to roll with it as best she could.</p>
            </blockquote>





	when you come home to me

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic for clexa and it was supposed to be a one-shot until I realized how long it was going to get. I'm probably gonna split it up into two or three chapters, but I wanted to get the first one out here before I went to Germany for a month. Hope you guys enjoy.

Clarke groaned as she woke up, her head pounding and her mouth dry. There was something weighing down her chest and she cracked an eye open and squinted down to see a brunette head. Clarke stretched her arms out over the side of the couch, humming in satisfaction when her back cracked. She ran a hand through her unkempt hair before running a hand through the brunette hair on her stomach. She gripped the hair gently and pulled, tilting up the brunette’s head to face Clarke.

“O, get off of me.” Clarke dropped Octavia’s head and she let out a grumbling whine and rolled to the side more so Clarke could get out from beneath her. As soon as Clarke got up, Octavia rolled back over, face down onto the cushions. Clarke stumbled her way into the kitchen to get a glass of water and some Advil. She took the Advil and finished her glass of water before grabbing another glass and more Advil for Octavia. She went back into the living room and set the glass and Advil on the table next to her laptop for Octavia when she woke up.

Wanting to get rid of the smell of vodka that was clinging to her skin, she made her way to the bathroom, feet padding against the wooden and tile floors. Clarke stood in front of the sink and splashed water on her face, dragging her hands down her cheeks, and looking into the mirror as she did. Clarke tried to remember what had happened the previous night, but all she could remember was Octavia bursting into their apartment, holding a key, and yelling, “I’m moving in, bitches!!” After that Octavia had dragged Clarke out to their favorite club the Ark in order to celebrate her moving in with her boyfriend, Lincoln. Clarke remembered nothing after Octavia had slid the 7th shot of vodka into her hand even after other drinks.

Clarke sighed and stepped into the shower, letting the previous night wash down the drain. After standing in the shower much longer than she needed to, Clarke dried herself off and got dressed. It was only after she walked back into the living room to see a still dozing Octavia that the situation sank in. Octavia—whom she had known most of her life and had been rooming with since freshman year of college—was moving out. Meaning she would have to find a new roommate. Before next month’s rent was due. Clarke sighed and cursed Lincoln for stealing her roommate; they had a rhythm and now Clarke was going to have to find someone new to fit into that rhythm.

Clarke skirted around Octavia on the couch and grabbed her laptop. She glanced at the clock for the time: 10:48. Octavia wouldn’t be up for another three hours at the very least. She went to her room and plopped down on her bed. Opening her laptop, she reached to start it up but was surprised to find it already on. Clarke’s eyes widened and she quickly opened her email and craigslist; when she was drunk she often went onto craigslist and looked through the artist and pet section. She’s had to email people on more than one occasion to take back what she’d agreed to take when drunk.

 Clarke immediately noticed that the ‘housing wanted’ tab was discolored, meaning it had been recently clicked on and she groaned. She switched over to her email and found the emails fairly easily. Just as she clicked on the first one she heard thudding feet rushing to the bathroom before retching noises. Roommate duty calls. She placed the laptop on her bed and hurried to the bathroom to hold Octavia’s hair back and rub her back.

“What am I gonna do without you?” Octavia rasped when she wasn’t throwing up with her head rested on the toilet seat.

“Oh, I’m sure Lincoln will hold your hair back just fine. If not, I could always teach him.” Octavia laughed.

“Sounds great.”

“Speaking of roommates,” Clarke horribly segued, “I may have accidentally gotten a new one last night while I was drunk craigslisting.”

Octavia looked up at Clarke, “Replacing me already? Somehow I’m not surprised.”

Clarke scoffed, “Well I’m not completely sure yet. I was about to read the emails before I heard you upchucking, so I came to help you instead.” Octavia stood a bit shakily and washed her face off in the sink, rinsing out her mouth, and gargling mouth wash as Clarke flushed the toilet.

“Who says upchucking anymore?” Octavia asked in between swishes. Clarke narrowed her eyes at Octavia who spit out the mouth wash. “Relaaax, geez. What are you gonna do without me to keep you from getting too wound up? I would very much like to hear these emails, plus your bed is much comfier than mine.”

“Fine. I left you water and Advil on the coffee table.” Clarke left the bathroom and went back to her room as Octavia grabbed the water and Advil before heading to Clarke’s room. Clarke pulled her laptop onto her lap and Octavia made herself comfortable next to Clarke, placing her glass on the nightstand.

Octavia motioned at Clarke with her hand when she was ready. “Alright, you may now read to me.”

Clarke rolled her eyes, “Thank you so very much for the permission.” She didn’t wait for a response as she cleared her throat and started to read the email aloud. “Hello there. I’ve seen that you are in need of an apartment and as of this afternoon, I am in need of a roommate.”

Octavia snorted, “Damn. I think you are more articulate in drunken emails than actual ones.” Clarke pushed her shoulder and continued reading.

“My name is Clarke Griffin; I am a 24 year old, female artist. The address of the apartment is number 319 at 3025 Mt. Weather Way. Hopefully, if you actually are looking for an apartment and not just a serial killer looking for victims, you can come by and check out the apartment to see if you like it earliest time being tomorrow afternoon?” Octavia glanced at the email and let out a low whistle.

“Seriously though. Not a single spelling mistake. That deserves props, Griffin.” Clarke just opened the email that she received in return.

“Now’s not the time to be impressed by my strangely formal, drunk, email writing, O. Let’s see the response,” she said as Octavia maneuvered herself so that her head was resting on Clarke’s shoulder and she could see the screen. Octavia decided that she was going to read this one and started to just as Clarke opened her mouth.

“Hello Clarke. I assure you that I am sincerely looking for an apartment and that I am not a murderer. This afternoon works for me, so I will stop by at around 2. Let me know if there are any complications. If not, I will see you then. Lexa.” Octavia hummed when she finished reading. “Sounds like something a serial killer would say.”

Clarke groaned and threw her head back against the headboard. “Of course that is what you would comment on. Not the fact that she’s coming over in three hours and our apartment is a mess.”

“Well when you view it that way…” Just as Octavia trailed off, their apartment door opened and closed. A moment later footsteps stopped in front of Clarke’s door and Raven was leaning against her door frame, eating an apple that she had quickly snatched from the kitchen.

“I always knew I’d catch you two in bed someday, but to think that it would be without me.” Raven sobbed over dramatically and made her way onto the bed. “What’s up with you two? You look awful.”

“Gee, thanks Raven. I’m pushing through the pain of a hangover that Octavia cause because she pushed celebratory drinks into my hand for her moving out.”

“Also, Clarke accidentally got a craigslist roommate.” Octavia piped up from Clarke’s side.

Raven eyes widened and she grinned. “You’re shitting me.” Octavia shook her head. “Man Clarke, if this goes wrong we could get you a TV show or a movie.” Raven crawled over to Octavia’s other side and peered at the laptop, resting her chin on Octavia’s head, reading the emails. When she finished she laughed and Clarke just sighed.

“What am I going to do?”

“Well,” Octavia started, shifting her head slightly against Clarke’s shoulder, “you could email her back and tell her that the email was a drunken mistake. On the other hand, you do need a new roommate ‘cause you can’t afford this place on your own.”

“—unless you ask Abby for the money.” Raven interrupted.

 Clarke scoffed, “I’d sort of rather have my roommate be a serial killer.”

“Then it looks like you’re only option is to get this apartment into a presentable state by 2 p.m.” Octavia murmured into Clarke’s shoulder as she began drifting off again.

“Oh no,” Clarke shook her head and nudged Octavia’s head up with her shoulder. “you are helping me clean up this apartment.” Clarke quickly reached out and grabbed Raven’s hand before she could bolt out of the bed. “Both of you. You owe me.”

Raven and Octavia weren’t even going to ask what they owed Clarke for because they already knew they owed her for several occasions. They shared a look before nodding. “Fine.” They both conceded.

“Then it’s settled. We’ll split up and clean the apartment and meet back on the couch when we’re finished.” Clarke nodded almost to reaffirm her own statement, before moving around her room to start cleaning, leaving Octavia sprawled out where Clarke had been with Raven partially on top of her.

“How can you be powering through a hangover like this, you must give me your secret. As a going away present.” Clarke threw a glance over her shoulder at Octavia who was still talking into Clarke’s pillow.

“Power of will.” Octavia groaned at the answer. “Now both of you help me.” That time Raven groaned. Slowly, they both got up out of the bed and shuffled out of the room to begin cleaning the apartment.

 

Two hours and forty-five minutes later, Clarke slumped on top of Octavia, who was lying on top of Raven. “Nebrlemecleanagin” Raven said with her face smushed into a couch cushion.

“What?” Clarke and Octavia asked simultaneously.

Raven lifted her head, spitting hair out of her mouth as she did. “I said: Never let me clean again.”

Octavia scoffed and pushed Raven’s head back down into the cushion. “Please, you cleaned for like an hour and then you took a nap.”

Clarke sighed and sprawled herself out even more. “Despite that, we got it done. Thanks, guys.” Clarke reached her arms down around to Raven’s stomach and squeezed them all into a hug. Octavia was fake gasping for breath and Raven was just groaning into the cushion. Clarke released the hug and slid off of Octavia. Octavia and Raven stayed put on the couch. Clarke gently adjusted Raven’s brace on her leg who just mumbled her thanks incoherently.

Raven had been in a pretty bad car accident the year before and she was lucky that was her only injury; she could’ve lost all mobility below her waist. A piece of metal from the crash had lodged itself into her spine. They had to use the Jaws of Life in order to cut away the car and get her out, after which she was in surgery for nine hours and had flat-lined once. At first the brace was a hard adjustment, but she had been getting more used to it over the last couple of months, especially when she took into consideration the alternatives. During the first couple months after the accident, Raven had roomed with Clarke and Octavia so that they could help her with whatever she needed—not that she ever took their help anyway.

Clarke sighed and shook her head at the duo on the couch, but she knew she wouldn’t trade them for the world. She glanced at the clock and nodded; she still had ten minutes to spare. She looked down at her clothes and decided that she wanted to make a better impression than extremely dirty art student. Hurrying back into her room she changed into a simple pair of jeans and a shirt. It wasn’t fancy, but it was much better than her cleaning clothes.

At 1:55, there was a knock on the apartment door and Clarke took a deep breath. So her potential new roommate was one of those ‘on time is already late’ types of people. She walked into the living room where Octavia was sitting up and grumbling about knocking and Raven was holding herself up with her elbow. Clarke glanced at them on her way to opening the door and paused. She turned back to look at them, “Just go take a nap in my room and try not to ruin my pillows please.” Octavia grinned and pulled Raven to her feet. They quickly made their way to Clarke’s room—as quickly a hungover person and an injured person could—to take a nap.

Clarke rolled her eyes good naturedly and let out a small laugh before opening the door.

“Hi, I’m Clarke. You must be Lexa.” Clarke fought to keep her voice steady as she took in the woman standing in front of her. She was extremely, intimidatingly attractive. Like it was actually unfair. Lexa nodded and gave a tight-lipped smile. Clarke opened the door more and motioned Lexa inside. “Come on in!” Clarke gave Lexa a subtle once over as she walked into the apartment. She looked frustratingly well put together with her hair intricately braided into a bun, a fitting black pinstriped pantsuit, and with matching two inch heels to put her just at intimidating height. Clarke felt underdressed in her own apartment as she looked down at her own plain outfit.

Clarke closed the door after Lexa and cleared her throat, gaining Lexa’s attention who had been looking around the living room. “So, I’ll give you a tour of the place and we’ll talk afterwards?”

Lexa nodded, “Sounds good.” Clarke smiled and opened her mouth to start talking when she was interrupted by ringing from her pocket. Clarke quickly dug into her pocket to fish out her phone, eyes widening a bit when she saw who was calling. Clarke looked sheepishly at Lexa.

“I’m sorry, I have to take this. The room is at the end of the hall if you want to give it a look?” Clarke rushed out the words before answering the call and heading into the kitchen.

Lexa nodded as Clarke left the room even though she wouldn’t be able to see it and made her way to the end of the hall; she could already feel that this tour was going to be interesting. When Lexa got to the end of the hall she stopped and looked between the two closed doors across from each other. Clarke hadn’t told her which side the room was on and she didn’t want to accidentally look somewhere she wasn’t supposed to. Then again, she reasoned to herself, it was probably going to be her apartment soon too anyway—it would take a lot for her to change her mind, especially after Clarke was the one who opened the door and because she was desperate enough to go onto craigslist—and she would probably see what’s behind the door that wasn’t her room eventually.

Making a decision, Lexa opened the door to the right—wrong decision. As soon as she stood in the doorway, she could tell she had made the incorrect choice considering the room she was looking into had two occupants cuddling in the bed.

Raven grumbled into Octavia’s hair as she was roused from her sleep by the door opening. She assumed it was Clarke, finally crashing after pushing through a hangover. She didn’t even open her eyes before muttering in a sleep filled voice, “Are you planning on joining us or not?” Octavia stirred only to burrow deeper into Clarke’s pillows and Raven didn’t receive an answer, only the sound of the door closing quickly. “Guess not. Her loss.” Raven sighed before falling back to sleep.

Lexa leaned with her back against the closed door and she was fairly sure she was blushing. So that was obviously Clarke’s room. Which she shared with two other women…girlfriends? Lexa shook her head slightly before crossing the hall to the other door. She could hear Clarke’s voice coming from the kitchen; she seemed excited, but Lexa couldn’t make out any words. Not that she would eaves drop if she could. Lexa opened the door and entered a much emptier room, littered with some boxes here and there. The previous roommate must have still been in the moving out stage.

The room itself was a pretty decent size, much bigger than the one she had just had. Clarke’s was bigger, but Lexa assumed she needed the space with…everything. Lexa didn’t need much space; she didn’t have many personal possessions and there was already a nice desk in the room for her to work and study on. Footsteps padded down the hallway until Clarke stopped in the door way. “Do you like everything so far?”

Lexa turned to the girl and nodded, “Yes, it’s a very nice apartment from what I’ve seen.” Clarke smiled before she motioned to the boxes.

“Sorry about those, my roommate is in the process of moving in with her boyfriend, but she should be out of here by tonight. Anyway, let’s actually start the tour.” Clarke stepped out of the doorway to allow Lexa to join her in the hall. Clarke pointed at the door across the hall. “That’s my bedroom, I would show it to you, but it’s a mess right now.” Lexa hummed her acknowledgment (and slight agreement) and did her best to keep her face neutral.

Clarke began walking backward down the hall, pointing out the bathroom to the right, which Lexa merely peeked into; it was a good size. She next came to a stop in front of the only other door in the hallway and seemed a bit hesitant to mention it. “This used to be a spare room, but I turned it into my studio, although if you need another room for something you can just let me know and I’ll clear out.”

Lexa tilted her head and leveled Clarke with a look. “Studio?”

Clarke nodded and then turned a bit sheepish. “Yeah! I’m an artist. That call earlier was about my work being put into a gallery actually.”

Lexa gave a small smile. “That’s impressive. I’d love to see some of your work someday”

“Hmmm…someday.” Clarke tapped the door twice before walking back into the living room. “So that’s pretty much all there is to it. This is obviously the living room, and then the kitchen and dining area are through there.” Clarke pointed at the opening and Lexa walked into the kitchen. It was small but it was sufficient, and the dining area was hardly anything more than a breakfast nook, which Lexa didn’t really mind.

Clarke waited in the living room while Lexa looked into the kitchen. She really hoped that Lexa liked the apartment, because rent was due in a week and she’d rather not have to look on craigslist again for a solution (she also was definitely not going to ask her mom for money). She sat down on her couch and a minute later Lexa walked back into the room. Lexa sat down on the other side of the couch, perching herself on the edge of the cushion in a position that Clarke could never find comfortable.

“So,” Clarke began, turning to look at Lexa, “do you like the apartment?” Lexa took one last surveying look around the room before nodding; she really did like the apartment. It was a nice size, but it felt like a home.

“I can move in tomorrow after class and have rent to you by the end of the week.” Clarke grinned in success before she realized that she had basically no idea who was going to move in with her.

“What time is your class over? What’s you major?” Clarke attempted to start a conversation.

Lexa tilted her head slightly and gave Clarke an appraising look. “My class is finished at 1:30 and I’m in law school, although I put that information in the craigslist ad. I was pretty thorough in my description.”

Clarke grimaced slightly and ran her hand through her hair. “About that…I was sort of extremely drunk when I answered your ad last night so I don’t remember anything that you put into it.” Lexa raised an eyebrow, seemingly unimpressed. Although, Lexa had to admit, Clarke’s ability to write emails while drunk was pretty impeccable.

“All you really need to know is that my name is Lexa, I’m a law student, I’m 24, and I am not a serial killer.” Lexa smirked, referencing their emails. She stood and smoothed out her suit a bit, before nodding to Clarke. “I will see you tomorrow afternoon.” She then walked out of the apartment, proud of herself for maintaining her composure in front of Clarke.

Clarke stared at the door after Lexa left the apartment. This was definitely going to be interesting. Clarke stretched her limbs out with a moan before standing and shuffling down the hall. She went into her room and immediately flopped onto her bed, right on top of Raven and Octavia who simply mumbled their annoyance before moving to let Clarke slip in between them.

“So I have a new roommate now.” Octavia turned over to face Clarke at her whisper.

“Good. Sleep now. Help me move out later.”

“I refuse.” Raven mumbled from the other side of Clarke. Clarke just reached behind her to flick Raven on the head before drifting off to sleep.

 

Clarke groaned as music started blaring from her alarm clock. After moving Octavia over to Lincoln’s place, followed by even more celebratory drinking, Clarke had gotten a ride back to her apartment from Bellamy, always the watchful one. She had stumbled up into her apartment, tossed off her shoes, stripped her layers off on her way to her bedroom until she was just left in her tank top and boy shorts, and immediately fell asleep on her bed on top of the covers.

She smacked her hand around her night stand before finally hitting the snooze button on the alarm clock. She glared at the red numbers blinking back at her; 9:30. She sat up on her bed, and put her head in her hands, taking a deep breath as she finally stood and walked into the bathroom.  

After a much needed shower and revitalization, Clarke dressed in her work clothes (an old dirty t-shirt and a pair of shorts), grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, and walked down the hall to her studio. Admittedly, Clarke had an actual studio that was about a ten minute walk from her apartment, but that mostly held her already finished work; she liked to work on her paintings and other miscellaneous projects close to home—literally in it to be more exact. Clarke entered her studio room, closing the door behind her, and let the rest of the apartment fade away. This was her zone.

She reached down and connected her phone into her speaker before starting her usual playlist. She made her way through the obstacle course that was the floor, full of different containers of paints, canvases, and other supplies, making her way to the painting she was currently working on. It was the final piece that was going to go into the gallery she had just been offered, so she had to finish it as soon as possible. The painting was definitely coming along, but it would take another day or two for Clarke to be happy enough with it to call it finished. She quickly pulled her hair into a loose bun and picked up her paintbrush from where she had set it down before Octavia had burst into their apartment two days ago with her news. With one final deep breath, Clarke entered her creative headspace and went to work. She was meticulous in everything: her brushstrokes, her mixing, even the amount of paint on the tip of the paintbrush at all times. She easily became swept up in her painting.

It wasn’t until she heard pounding on the front door that she was forced back into reality. She surveyed her work for a second longer, nodding to herself, and walked over to get her phone. She removed it from the speaker and glanced at the time. _Shit._ It was already two in the afternoon which meant the angry knocking was most likely Lexa. Clarke rushed back into the apartment, closing her studio off behind her, and quickly threw open the door.

What Clarke was not expecting was a very, _very_ large, bearded man with some pretty intimidating tattoos holding a box full of books. Clarke’s eye widened slightly before she straightened her back. “May I help you?”

There was the sound of boxes being shuffled behind the man and he immediately backed from the doorway to reveal Lexa, in regular clothes this time, carrying two boxes. “You know Clarke, typically when people knock; you answer the door within five minutes.”

“So sorry, I was working and I got stuck in my zone. My friends joke that a nuclear war could go on around me but if I was in my zone I wouldn’t even flinch. Were you really knocking for five minutes?” Lexa nodded and looked at Clarke’s outfit. With all the paint on her she _looked_ as if she had gone through a nuclear war, or at least a very intense paint ball fight, but annoyingly enough Clarke could still pull the look off.

“I finally gave up after five minutes and then Gustus tried,” Lexa motioned toward the large man with her head, “luckily he finally got your attention.” Clarke narrowed her eyes a bit, unable to tell if Lexa’s comment was poking fun or actually critical.

It wasn’t until after they had all been standing there, two of them awkwardly holding boxes in their arms that Clarke remembered Lexa was supposed to be moving in, not just standing at the doorway of the apartment. “Come on in. You know where the room is.” Clarke stepped back and opened the door wider, allowing Lexa and Gustus to walk in. Clarke watched them carry the boxes down the hall to Lexa’s new room. Lexa was just glad she could finally put the boxes down. She may not have shown it, but her arms were tired after holding the two heavy boxes for quite a while.

When Lexa and Gustus entered the hall again Clarke spoke up, “Do you need any help unloading anything else?”

“No, that was the most of it. Gustus and I can handle this.” Clarke glanced at the large man and didn’t doubt for a second that her could probably lift a semi-truck if he wanted to. Nodding, Clarke headed into the kitchen to grab her left over sandwich from Lincoln and Octavia’s almost-party the night before.

She heard the pair leave the apartment once again so she went back into her studio to eat her sandwich, connecting her phone once again to the speaker and letting her music fill the space once again. Taking a bite of her sandwich, she stood in front of her painting again and looked at it as she ate. She was happy with it and with a few more last minute touches it would be exactly what she had imagined in her mind.

Before she could pick up the paintbrush and add some touches, she heard Lexa and Gustus enter the apartment again. Maybe it didn’t make the best working environment for her to add final touches while her roommate moved in. If Octavia was anyone to go by, it definitely was a loud process. She had wanted to throttle Octavia many times during her moving out process the day before and she hadn’t even been trying to paint then. Clarke finished her sandwich and decided that she would finish tomorrow; the gallery didn’t open for another two weeks anyway. She left her studio, taking her phone, and went back out into the apartment which was surprisingly quiet.

Clarke walked down the hall and peered into Lexa’s room, no sign of Gustus which probably meant he left although Clarke wasn’t sure how such a giant man could make so little noise moving about. Lexa was putting books from one of the boxes onto the shelf on the wall and looked over her shoulder at Clarke.

“Everything good so far?”

“Yes.”

“Do you want any help with anything?”

“I’m fine. Thank you.”

“Alright…” Clarke trailed off awkwardly, but she couldn’t help but notice how little boxes Lexa had in the room. She and Gustus had only made two trips, unless Gustus was coming back with more later; were six boxes Lexa’s entire life? Clarke knew first hand that it had taken Octavia fourteen boxes, much larger than the ones Lexa used, to get all of her stuff out of the apartment and that was after Clarke and Raven had made Octavia make ‘give away’ boxes. With one last look around the oddly barren room, Clarke went to the living room to sit down on the couch, grabbing her laptop to mindlessly browse the internet until she fell asleep or someone texted her.

Lexa was steadily making progress at unpacking her boxes, moving the furniture in the room around as she did in order to make the set up to her liking. She broke the box she had just emptied down and placed it in the corner. She made a mental note to herself to remember to thank Gustus later on for helping her move. Lexa didn’t have many personal possessions beyond her clothes and most of what was in all the boxes were books and her textbooks for school, but it never really bothered her. She was more of a saver than a splurger.

 

It had been a week since Lexa had moved in and Clarke had barely seen her, let alone talked to her. She was always either in class, in her room studying for class, prepping a case, or whatever else it was that law students did.

Admittedly, the lack of communication wasn’t just Lexa’s fault; Clarke was very frustrated with herself and her painting that she mentally cursed as she looked at it for the hundredth time. It didn’t feel complete and Clarke had no idea what was missing from it. She had stared at it so much in the past week she was surprised it didn’t have holes burnt into it. Rubbing the heels of her hands onto her eyes, she took a deep breath. She needed to figure what was missing today; there was only another week until the gallery opened and she still needed to plan the layout of it.

It had crossed her mind, more than once in the week, to start over and paint something else for the gallery. It frustrated her that last week she had been happy with it and had been nearly finished, but now she couldn’t even figure out what went wrong with it.

She heard the apartment door open and close; Lexa must have been back from her classes. The thought of her roommate gave Clarke an idea, although she was unsure of how good an idea it was. She needed a new perspective, a different perspective.

Clarke hurried out of her studio, hoping to catch Lexa before she retreated into her room. No such luck; Clarke saw the door to Lexa’s room closing just as she entered the hall. Clarke padded, barefoot, down the hall until she stood in front of Lexa’s door. She rapped her knuckles against the door twice and had to only wait a moment for the door to open.

Lexa raised an inquisitive eyebrow at Clarke, nonverbally asking her a question. Clarke looked Lexa up and down once; Lexa had changed into her everyday clothes, before speaking. “Do you still want to see my art?” Clarke figured being blunt would work best in this situation since Lexa seemed to be blunt herself from what Clarke had witnessed. Lexa furrowed her eyebrows, processing Clarke’s question. “It’s just—I’ve been working on a painting, but I’m not happy with it anymore and I don’t know why that is. I figured I could use a different perspective.”

Lexa nodded slowly. “Sure, although I’m not sure if anything I would have to say would help you at all. I’m not a large art person.” Clarke simply shrugged.

“At this point I’m desperate enough to ask for a dog’s perspective.” Clarke turned and walked back toward her studio, missing Lexa’s lips quirk up into a smirk.

“Are you equating me to a dog, Clarke?” Clarke looked over her shoulder back at Lexa with a contemplative look.

“I guess that depends on your perspective doesn’t it?” Lexa raised an eyebrow, but followed Clarke to the studio anyway.

Her eyes widened as she took in the state of Clarke’s studio; Clarke was used to it and hardly noticed the mess anymore. There were paint cans and dirty sheets everywhere, canvases, empty and full, lined the walls. Lexa hesitantly maneuvered her way across the floor to where Clarke stood in front of a canvas on an easel, her face scrunched up in concentration and frustration. As Lexa rounded the easel to stand behind Clarke, she could barely hold in a gasp. The painting was unlike anything Lexa had ever seen. She could hardly believe it was a painting at all, with all the detail she could easily see in it.     

It depicted a female from the bust, up, naked. Her chest cavity was opened, but her heart was stitched in place. Her own hands were reached up inside her chest cavity, trying desperately to undo all the stiches, to free her heart. Lexa’s eyes panned up to the girls head. Her skull was hinged so that it could easily open and close, but in the painting it was open. A pair of hands was reaching into her skull, removing a part of her brain like the pair before had and like the several pairs shown in waiting were going to. Her face didn’t show pain; it showed absolute misery that Lexa could almost feel coming from the painting.

Lexa let out a shaky breath that she hadn’t even been aware she had been holding. Clarke glanced at her from the corner of her eye before looking back at the painting. Clarke broke the silence, her voice soft and barely above a whisper, “It’s about when I switched majors. Well, less “switched majors” and more “dropped out of med school”… I know it may seem like a drastic depiction, but it’s what I felt at the time. There was a lot going on and it wasn’t an easy time. By painting those emotions, they’re still there. I can still look at them and feel them again, but they’re no longer a black hole sucking every other emotion into them…” Clarke trailed off as she looked at the painting, head tilted.

It wasn’t until Clarke spoke that Lexa noticed how much the girl in the painting looked like Clarke. It wasn’t exact, but Lexa could definitely see elements of Clarke in the painted girl.

Clarke shook her head, clearing away the thoughts she was having and turned to look at Lexa. Clarke couldn’t decipher the look Lexa was giving her, but she wished she could. “Sorry,” she ran a hand through her unruly hair, “you probably didn’t want to hear all that. I guess it’s just the frustration with this painting bringing everything up. What do you think?”

Lexa looked between Clarke and the painting a couple of times with pursed lips. She opened her mouth once before closing it again, wanting to be certain of her words. “I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s extremely powerful; I can feel the misery rolling off her. It’s so detailed and tells the story perfectly. I think all you need to do is sign your name in the corner. But,” Lexa conceded, “I also think that you will not agree with me because you’ve been staring at it for too long and nitpicking it.”

Clarke chewed her bottom lip anxiously as Lexa spoke. As soon as the other woman had finished, she turned back around to the painting and gave it one last look over; it already looked better to her. Maybe she had just needed the validation and reassurance. Clarke picked up the paintbrush, aware of Lexa’s gaze behind her, and signed her name in the bottom left corner. She looked over her shoulder and met Lexa’s gaze. “You’re coming to my gallery, right?”

* * *

 

Lexa sighed as she entered the apartment, music from Clarke’s studio immediately hitting her ears. It had been a stressful day and she really just wanted to relax in the quiet of her room for the rest of the night. She went into the kitchen, grabbed a bottle of water, almost tripped over Clarke’s shoes in the living room, and made it back to her room. Lexa was used to the music and the small messes by now; they had been living together for over a month. Clarke was by no means a messy person (except when it came to her studio), but she sometimes forgot to clean, or eat or drink or sleep when she got into her ‘zone’.

The zone obviously paid off for Clarke, despite how unhealthy it could be. Lexa had seen the payoff first hand when she had gone to Clarke’s gallery during her free time a couple of weeks prior. It did not disappoint and each painting had enamored her just as the first she had seen had.

Lexa just wished Clarke had picked a different day to be messy and loud, because she really wasn’t having it today. Lexa shut her door behind her slightly louder than usual, but to no affect. She slid the book she had been reading off the shelf and opened to the page she left off on. She held the book open with one hand while she opened the bottle of water with the other and took a large gulp from it. With Clarke’s music, seemingly playing louder than usual, Lexa could barely get through a page without having to read it over multiple times. It got to the point where Lexa spent five minutes trying to read a single paragraph but had absorbed nothing of what her eyes scanned over.

After finally getting through that page in the book, she heard the apartment door open and two distinct voices filter through. Lexa groaned, she really did not think she could deal with Clarke’s two crazy girlfriends today. They were usually very loud, pesky, and almost always came over to apartment as a pair from what Lexa had seen. They were definitely double trouble. She couldn’t fathom how their relationship worked with all the large personalities in it, but it was none of her business who Clarke shared her bed with. Thankfully, they headed right to Clarke’s studio and the music stopped after a second. Lexa let out a sound of relief and let her head lay back against the pillow.

Footsteps sounded down the hall and went into Clarke’s room. A couple of minutes later, Clarke knocked on Lexa’s door and called out. “I’m going out with Octavia and Raven, may or may not be back later.” Clarke waited in front of the door for a response, but Lexa didn’t feel like giving her one so she just continued her book and listened as the trio loudly left the apartment.

 

Lexa jumped awake, her book falling onto her lap from where it had been resting on her chest. She must have fallen asleep while reading. She looked down at her alarm clock; it was 1:34 am, why had she woken up? She looked around her room to see if anything had fallen over or made noise to wake her up, but she couldn’t find anything. She placed her book onto the nightstand and started to furrow into her bed before she heard banging on the apartment door.

Lexa got out of bed and made her way to the front door, grabbing the umbrella stood next to it just in case before opening the door. What she was not expecting, was an extremely drunk Clarke leaning in the doorway of their apartment probably because she couldn’t stand on her own. Lexa’s face soured and she placed the umbrella back next to the door. “What are you doing Clarke?”

The aforementioned woman’s head snapped up from where it was lolling to the side to look at Lexa. “It’s polite to knock before entering.” Clarke said as if it were a perfect explanation to everything.

“Not on your own apartment door, waking your roommate up at 1:30 in the morning, it isn’t.” Lexa scowled and Clarke frowned in thought. Lexa sighed and shook her head. “Come on, get inside.” Lexa opened the door further and Clarke smiled before shuffling inside.

Clarke started to make her way to her room before she stopped abruptly and turned quickly on her heel to face Lexa again. “You’ve never been in my bed!” She practically yelled. Lexa’s mouth dropped open and her cheeks warmed; she didn’t even know how to begin to respond to that. “It’s a shame, Lex. It’s reaaaallllllyy comfy.” Clarke grinned as she looked at Lexa. After a few seconds, Lexa horrifically realized that she was expecting a response.

“Ah, no. Maybe some other time Clarke.” Lexa was definitely going to yell at Clarke tomorrow for waking her up and possibly propositioning—Lexa’s cheeks warmed thinking about it—her while she was drunk and had two girlfriends. Clarke genuinely frowned and looked sad at her response before nodding and trudging to her room, shutting the door quietly behind her. Lexa shook her head in disbelief before going back to bed; the next morning was definitely going to be an interesting one.

 

 


End file.
